Wednesday, September 02, 2015

My new comic series, Vampblade, will debut this Halloween as part of Halloween ComicFest (Free Comic Book Day for Halloween) in participating comic book shops. Here's an interview I did for the event (and preview of the book, with artwork by Winston Young):

HCF2015: Jason Martin Throws a Monster Bash in Vampblade

Straight from the pages of Zombie Tramp and now the star of her own series, Action Lab's Danger Zone presents Vampblade! Get a sneak peek at this new series before it launches in 2016 with the Halloween ComicFest special issue! She's a comic slinger by day and an inter-dimensional monster slayer by night... or whenever they feel like attacking (monsters have no regard for work hours).

Halloween ComicFest: What is your favorite part about your Halloween ComicFest comic?Jason Martin: Well, aside from truly loving the story I’m building with this concept, hands down, it has to be my main artist on the title, Winston Young (Zombie Tramp, Zombie Tramp VS Vampblade). The man can flat out draw. Not only does he have a mastery of perspective, and ability for detail, but it’s all filtered through an amazing knack for storytelling and style. He truly brings Vampblade and her world to exciting and engrossing life! And when telling a story that traffics in both the real world, as well as the fantastic, but can also be at times gory and just crazy, you need an artist that can handle all of that.

Hopefully people will be rightfully impressed when they see his Halloween ComicFest pages.

Halloween ComicFest: What can we expect to see in terms of story and art in your Halloween ComicFest title?Jason Martin: I just spoke about our insanely cool artist in the last question, so here I’ll speak to the story a bit. Vampblade on the surface may seem like a potentially derivative “bad girl” book, and while it is to an extent, it’s also much more than that. I love pop culture and comics, I’m a junkie, and kinda like Tarantino does in film, I like to build new things from the bones of all the coolest stuff I see. So while Vampbladewas born from a literal 90s bad girl mash-up design, I just worked that into her story. So when she wields these supposed prop blades from an 90s indie comic, they actually transform her into that forgotten character, who happens to be crazy, sexy, and powerful, and allow her the ability to use them to destroy other-dimensional parasites secretly feeding on humanity. So, comic book shop employee/geek by day, badass cosplayer/slayer by night!Halloween ComicFest: Tell HCF fans why they should pick up your comic first during the event.Jason Martin: If its anything like the Free Comic Book day book we at Action Lab: Danger Zone did last year, it will be one of the most sought after. Since it’s a mature readers book, it will be quite different from the majority of the other ComicFest offerings, and fans looking for something a bit cooler will possibly gravitate towards it. So act fast!

I’m a big horror and genre fan, but first and foremost I have to mention Zombie Tramp. Not only do I co-write and color that book, but Vampblade launched from the pages of that title, and shares a similar appeal. Plus, it’s a really fun book, and I was a big fan before I started working on it. I also did a horror-themed book previously, called Night of the 80s Undead, with artist Bill McKay, and I’m kind of partial to that! So yes, fans of horror, Halloween, and monsters will have no shortage of craziness to love in the pages of Vampblade. She dresses up and fights other dimensional monsters, a.k.a. “space vampires!"

What other titles would you associate with your HCF book? “If a comic readers likes___, they should pick up my HCF Title?”

Vampblade has a similar setup to some beloved cult classics: one, Rom Spaceknight, a comic, and the other, They Live, a John Carpenter film. Both of those feature a protagonist that can see deadly threats to humanity all around them, via some device, that otherwise go unseen, and both left a lasting impression on pop culture. Vampblade looks to play with similar themes in the 21st century landscape.

Outside of that, a good example of a current comic whose fanbase may like Vampblade would be Harley Quinn.

It’s the future and society has become enslaved by massive corporations. These corporations have in turn become warring Monarchies that have spread into the galaxy oppressing everything in their path to fuel their power. Our protagonist, the daughter to the powerful PEP-C corporation, instead of following through with her arranged marriage, rebels and wields the large resources of the monarchy to f@$# around, stir up trouble, and have a good time.

From her own personal Starcraft carrier - stocked with a fleet of ships, mechs, and weaponry at her disposal – she slips through corporate fingers to steal and stockpile the galaxies' most lethal tech. She is PRINCE-S STARthief!

This is a really cool new project I've been working on for a long while that I'd love to see come to life! As you'll see, Celor is a truly amazing artist, and his work here really takes things to another level!!!

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Out in comic book stores this week, Zombie Tramp VS: Vampblade issue 1
Written and colored by me
Featuring my character Vampblade
(co-written by Dan Mendoza, with artwork by Winston Young, and letters by Adam Wollet)

You can see more about the series on the Danger Zone tumblr HERE
including a six page preview HERE

Friday, March 27, 2015

I had a few new prints, and a killer spot, but the show was as good as ever.

Look for these two as new tee designs soon...

And here's some Agent Carter fan art...

Its simply one of the best shows bar none.
They pack in an amazing crowd of comic fans every year, so here's hoping new owners Reed Pop don't change it too radically.

We stayed in the con hotel this year and got to see many of the guests, often while walking the dog (including Stan the Man), which doesn't normally happen while being behind the table at shows, so that was fun. And we got to spend time with many of our friends old and new, and sample some truly amazing restaurants to celebrate my wife's birthday in style.

The Icon Grill is always a must for us.
But we happened onto Quinn's, which is on Pike street about a mile north of the con, and it has a truly amazing offbeat pub menu, and super tasty house beverages. Highly recommend seeking them out... and you must get the spiced bacon caramel corn ;)
And of course, the Taphouse, just a block from the con is always good!

Here's some of the cooler cosplay I saw (the gender-bent Wolverine was too cool)...

And finally, here's a Rocket Raccoon sketch cover I did at the show...